Applicant Tracking System - What to expect and how to build

In our last article, we covered onboarding and how important is smooth digital onboarding in remote working. We talked about various ATS (Applicant Tracking System) and HRMS systems. If you are in midst of hiring for many positions for multiple locations it becomes difficult to manage the applicants.

You are posting jobs on 10 different job portal. You are flooded by emails and it's easy to lose track. That's where ATS come into the picture. There are 100s of ATS system in the market, Pinpoint, Greenhouse, Clearcompany, Recruitee, Recruiterbox, Workable, SmartRecruiter and People Strong.

In this series, we will learn in-depth about the process, and in future, we will write about other ATS system mentioned above. We will cover why there is a need for an ATS system and the lifecycle + process and how the system work.

There are a lot of outdated practices in these traditional systems. You can learn about it in our Fair & Equal Pay article. The goal here is to understand the process and ask Why, How and What. If you are a tech-focused company that wants to build its own micro ATS system. Jump to our article about forms and check out how we created an ATS system using Google form, Google App Script, Google Sheet and Trello.

We will cover the process, the need of the process and the features that the ATS system provide. This article will help you to set up a recruitment system in your company and you can question yourself which of these process you need and create RFP ( Request for Proposal ) to set up the ATS system.

Organisation Setup

The first need for an ATS system is to set up your organisation. Adding details of your company and defining roles and access control. Who handles what (access control, in technical term) and who can access which part of the system and information on the system. Many ATS system will have a defined set of abilities, actions assigned to various roles.

- An Owner who owns the system.

- A manager who is responsible to add other roles in the system and define their responsibilities. Define workflow, create process pipeline and identify the need of more process which may lack in the ATS system you are using or developing.

- An editor who can add, edit and delete job requirements. Can add candidates and manage the recruitment flow defined by the manager.

- A viewer/commenter who can view the process and comment.

- A Third-party user, who is not a part of the system. To whom you can assign tasks related to the process. This can be a third-party recruiter or an interviewer.

Define Workflow.

Workflow should be configurable, some of the time ATS system will have its own workflows. These workflows are editable. Either you can use an existing workflow or build your own workflow. Workflow is nothing but a process for applicant hiring.

- A hiring manager adding a Job Requisition that can be approved by the admin of the system.

- Once the job Requisition is approved. A manager can then set up a workflow for applicant tracking.

Shortlisting

- This will contain all the shortlisted candidates. Most of the system will have an email notification system to notify the shortlisted candidate. If the application is rejected an automated mail will be sent to applicants.

- The system will provide score and ratings and sort the top applicants to minimise the recruiters time.

- Features like resume parsing is available to search certain keywords within the resume.

- Recruiter can add a candidate to the system and parse resume and the system will find out the matching skills on the job requirement.

- ATS like PeopleStrong and Smart Recruiter also has a chrome plugin to capture the data from linkedin and other job portals.

- While shortlisting the candidate it's important to check the eligibility. Setting CTQ (Critical to quality) Asking relevant questions and eligibility criteria while applying can save time for the recruiter.

- If you have a pool of resumes with higher volume. ATS can help to identify the relevant candidates on basis of the data added by the candidate on the resume.

- These scores are based on the data captured by the system. It's easier to fool the system and get a high score. As the system compare the data in the job description and resume and the more the number of matches, the higher the percentage.

- Candidates add education, experience, address, email and phone number. There are API services that can identify whether the phone number and email of the rightful person and not faked.

- Many applicant edit resume to match the job requirement and often fake the data. That's why we need human intervention to screen the candidates manually.

Screening

- The shortlisted candidates can be further moved to the screening round. You can attach a screening form or recruiter call the candidate and screen the candidates to check the eligibility.

- There is a need for screening round because 70% of the time the resumes attached to the application are not relevant to the job description.

- During the screening round, a recruiter can add notes and tag the candidate for particular skills. Add additional information related to the candidate on the system.

- At Cyphertree we are building an offline screening. Where candidate can join a call and answer the question listed on the form via video. This can save a lot of time for recruiters to screen the candidate.

Interviews

- Interview can be an initial round of Interview with a recruiter or a team member. ATS system can add multiple stages of an interview in the workflow. Assign the responsible person and schedule an interview.

- Mostly all system have an interview scheduling mechanism. Where candidate can check available interview slots. Attend the meeting over zoom, google meet or Microsoft teams. Some of the ATS systems provide a facility to connect the account with all three applications.

- An Interviewer can further fill a feedback form and add their reviews about the interview. Or they can add a score according to the skillset and add fit to job criteria.

- Mostly an interviewers job is to access the skillset of the applicants. Providing details to the applicant on what to expect in the interview is a great approach.

- Keeping the interview short to 30 mins and asking the relevant question can save time for both parties.

- AI tools like fireflies are a great addition to interview as it records the interview and generates a transcript of the call. Many ATS system provides features such as call recording.

Assessment

- Company can further define the assessment round. The assessment can be to assess cognitive skills, write a code or submit proof of concept.

- Assessment should consist of the start and end date. A fixed duration can help to estimate when to expect the submissions.

- You can completely skip the assessment if not required. I believe the assessment is crucial to assess the candidates on the basis of merits and skills.

- ATS system can support creating assessment and use further references. There are fewer systems in the market which support assessment.

- If you are a tech company you can use the HackerEarth ATS system. It provides multiple assessment tools and various language support. Or you can use HackerEarth API to integrate within the system.

Applicant Status Tracking

**Offer/ Rejection/ on-hold/ InReview/ Didn't Join**

- After completing the above process. At this stage is decision making. Here the applicant is waiting for feedback from the organisation. There is no deadline or duration mentioned for applicants wait period. This can be a great addition to an ATS system. To add waiting period.

- Many times applicant complete the entire hiring process and wait to hear from the company. An ATS system can notify of the long waiting period to the team and create a list of actions.

- This stage the workflow transition to less of a process and more towards the status of the candidate.

- Company may reject the applicant at any stage. Or keep the applicant on hold after the interview. Or even keep the applicant in review for further deliberation within the company. Higher the wait time the candidate lose interest and search for other opportunities.

- Tracking why the applicant rejected the offer or why the company rejected the candidate can help both parties to understand the reason for rejection.

- The system can generate the offer letter and mail it to the candidate. Which further candidate can accept or reject or negotiate further.

- Waiting and negotiation period should be defined and kept short to retain the candidate interest in the offer.

- Many times candidate accepts the offer letter and does not join. Your system can add such candidate into the negative pool or add a negative rating for not joining. If they apply next time the system can tell you the history of the candidate.

- Many systems will consider applicant status tracking as a part of the workflow. At Cyphertree we are tracking the candidate status and on the process level. Whether the candidate showed up for an interview, didn't complete the assessment on a timely basis. Whether the applicant is non-responsive or lost interest in the offer.

These are some steps and workflow of an ATS system. Supported by all the system available in the market. Once the workflow is defined by the Manager now is the time to move ahead adding a job and understanding the need of the job.

A job can be published on an internal company level. It can be campus recruitment, contingent workforce, walk-in drive, contract to hire basis. Before publishing the job on the system and further posting and advertisement into the job market. It's important to understand the need to hire. That's what job requisitions are about.

Job Requisition

Let's consider you are starting a new account and assigned a new project to this account. Assigned a duration, budget, team, skillset, deadline and other required aspects of the project. Involving a discussion with the stakeholders, finance team and the management team. Whether there is a need to hire a skillset. The project manager approaches the hiring manager and explains the need for such skills. The hiring manager then create a **Job Requisition**

If you are using an ATS system there is already a Job Requisition form which may look like [this](https://form.jotform.com/211527092747458)

What is a job requisition?

A job requisition is a document used to request a hire, explain why it is needed, and determine the budget available for the role. Hiring managers fill out a job requisition when they wish to create a new position or refill an existing, vacated position.

**A job requisition often includes:**

- The position title

- The name of the hiring manager requesting the hire

- The department, team, or project the role would belong to

- Whether the position is full-time or part-time, permanent or contract

- The preferred start date

- The salary range, hourly rate, or pay grade

- If the hire would be a replacement, reallocation, or new hire

- Whether the role is budgeted for, or not budgeted for

- Justification for making a new hire

- A new or updated job description.

Getting approval to hire

The job requisition typically requires approval from human resources, to ensure it aligns with company policy and strategy, and approval from the finance department, to confirm the proposed pay aligns with the available budget.

Initiating recruitment

Once approved, the job requisition is used to guide recruitment. It may be delegated to an internal recruiter tasked with filling the role, or it may be sent to a recruitment agency to initiate a search for suitable candidates.

Maybe you do not fill up such job requisition if you are a small company. But the process makes sense in large scale organisation. In a smaller setup following such practice keeps the decision-making panel and manager on the same page. Defining the core competency, skill sets and understanding the need for such skill sets are critical to achieving the quality.

If you are a tech company developing an e-commerce app for an art supplier. You decided on the tech stack, domain and infrastructure. You may need experts who previously worked in the e-commerce domain. Who understand the technology and who is also within the given budget. You may not find a candidate who ticks all boxes that's when you need to decide what's relevant, preferred and good to have. Now is a good time to draft a Job Description

What is a job description?

A job description is a written statement about a specific position inside an organization. It will usually list the purpose, duties, and working conditions of the role along with the skills, background, and traits necessary to perform it.

The job description might include:

- The job’s title

- The job responsibilities.

- Whom the position reports to

- Whom the position oversees

- Skills, abilities, education, and experience required to perform the role

- Names of departments, teams, projects, committees or regions the position is a member of or oversees

- Work hours, availability or travel required by the position

- A description of workplace conditions

- A salary range, pay grade, or list of benefits the position is entitled to

If using an ATS system you will find varieties of template of the job description. These Job description templates can be categorised by skills. the designation, core competencies. If you can't find one you can create one and use it as a template for future reference. Tag templates by domain, department, industry and skills.

I personally feel you can set a good KRA (Key Responsibilities Area) while drafting job responsibilities. If you have limited knowledge on how to draft a JD. ATS system helps you to structure the document. Cyphertree is currently developing an ATS system where we have added an ability to tag JD. We provide a job description template by skills and responsibilities.

Who drafts the JD? I would ask the team member to list down the job responsibilities within the JD. They have the best knowledge about the requirement of a project.

Other features with the ATS system provides are

Dashboard - An overview of all applicants for the job. A number of applicants in review, in-process and other stages of the process.

Reports - Providing comprehensive reports for recruitment by job, selected date range, time spent on each job and related stats.

Calculators - A built-in salary calculator which understands the salary component and other aspects related to salary. Like stock options and equity.

Candidate Portal - A portal for a candidate to chat with the recruiter, track the application and accept or reject the offer.

Messenger - A messenger to directly communicate with the applicants. The applicant may receive these messages via email and reply to them by mail.

Task List - For internal use, a recruiter can create a daily task list for themselves and other team members.

Export - Exporting candidates list, jobs, job application into CSV file. Or connect them with google sheet.

Third-Party App Connection - Connection with Hubspot, Mailchimp, job portals, google calendar, Linkedin. Connecting with zoom, google meet can keep the calendar in sync.

Candidate Verification - ATS system can provide a service to verify the details provided by the applicant. While accepting the job offer, the company may ask for details like social security number which can be verified in the system.

I hope this article provided you with in-depth knowledge of the ATS system and the recruitment process. In our next article, we will cover how the ATS system is mostly built for business and companies. What can be the role of third party recruiters and recruitment agencies? At present, there is less system in the market which allow inviting a third-party recruiter in the system. Third-party recruiter provides candidates and resumes to the company. Which company further upload the resumes and check for duplicates. We will talk more about this in the next article.

At Cyphertree we provide a contingent workforce to many businesses. We follow the best HR practices and thrive to provide healthy work culture. Write to us at [email protected] to scale your team in India.